Identity Crisis – What’s your brand?
Your brand isn’t just a logo, stationery and sign. They’re part of your brand, but not the whole thing. A brand isn’t a product or a service, either. It’s your customer’s experience and how they think of you. Every time a customer has an interaction with your organization, it’s part of the brand.
Here’s an example. I read an article about how intentionally Starbucks built its brand. They were considering a cost saving measure: going from double-ply to single-ply toilet paper. That’s right, toilet paper. They could shave the budget by peeling away a single ply. In the end, they decided that it would be a bad decision. Why? It would have diminished the customer’s overall experience of the Starbucks brand!
Collaboration has its challenges and building a separate brand is one of them. The Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (MYAC) is the lovechild of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) and First Stage Children’s Theater, both well-established and respected brands in their industries. Now, here’s their new kid on the block: MYAC. It’s a collaboration so MYAC is simply part of both organizations. Right? NO! It’s a separate nonprofit entity. Even some of the kids and parents in the building on a regular basis don’t understand.
If we asked for a donation for MYAC from someone that previously gave to either MYSO or First Stage their response would likely be, I already gave. Now THAT’S a branding issue. They don’t have a clear picture of where one organizations ends and the other begins. In their minds it’s just one big, happy family.
Continuing to strengthen the MYAC brand and distinguishing it from its founding mom and dad is a challenge. It clearly effects how we communicate to donors and the community. Good branding can improve our bottom line.
What’s your brand? Is it helping or impeding progress? Remember: a single ply can make all the difference.